Launch of Eri-UK Friendship forum and Eritrea’s friends and partner’s event held in London

Statement: Launch of Eri-UK Friendship forum and Eritrea’s friends and partner’s event held in London

London 24 May 2010

On the occasion of the 19th Anniversary of Independence, the Embassy launched its UK-Eritrea Friendship Forum, within an overarching event that was designed to bring together existing friends and partners of Eritrea as guests and speakers. About 50 friends, diplomats and about 30 Eritrean counterparts attended the event, which took place at the Thistle Marble Arch Hotel in London on the 24 of May 2010.

Guests from a variety of areas were present, including politics, tourism, wildlife, investment, research, media, public relations and international organizations. Among the notable political figures were Lord Eric Avebury and Mr Jeremy Corbyn , MP on top of the Ambassadors of Sudan, Kuwait, Libya, and a representative from the Embassy of Kosovo, two previous UK ambassadors in Eritrea and a representative from the Foreign Commonwealth

Office, Horn of Africa Section who showed up for the auspicious occasion. Representatives from the Scotish Friends of Eritrea and Irish Friends of Eritrea also joined the celebration.

The strategy of using existing friends to promote Eritrea’s success in a multitude of sectors allowed the objective to be met. The event thus created an opportunity of raising awareness of the various avenues of development from the Eritrean Embassy and community in the UK. The official reception was also an opportunity for guests to meet each other and provided an informal platform for discussion.

The event bought to the fore diverse speakers and included HE Ambassador Tesfamicael Gerahtu and Lord Eric Avebury. The speeches were entirely varied in content, contributed to creating a positive perspective of Eritrea while underlying the relationship building objectives of the Government of Eritrea and also gave an insight into the efforts of the Eritrean community.

H.E. Tesfamicael Gerahtu, Ambassador of Eritrea in the UK and Ireland, presented an overview of the present situation in Eritrea, development activities and prospects and various issues related to the Horn of Africa and in particular Eritrea-Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti. In his brief outline the Ambassador gave an insight into the resolute rebuff of the Eritrean people against the sanctions resolution, the effort going on to strengthen national capacity, food security, improvement of the quality life, human capital investment and the establishment of local governance systems in support of the grassroots democratic process in the country. In addition, he elaborated on the investment development potential existing in Eritrea. At the end of his speech, the floor was opened for questions, which were addressed to the Ambassador and allowed for further discussion on the specific content from some of the speeches. This enabled to further reiterate the suitability of Eritrea in a variety of capacities including investment, tourism and diplomatic relations.

The other speeches during the occasion also included the following:-

• Lord Eric Avebury in his speech highlighted the exemplary struggle waged by the Eritrean people for independence and gave an account of his continuous support the Eritrea’s struggle for self-determination. He admired the perseverance and spirit of Eritreans, gave his continued support for Eritrea’s development and raised several development issues
• Dr Tim Williams, a geologist and CEO of the Andiamo Mining Company in Eritrea gave an overview of the mining situation, prospects of development and the role it can play in the future economic development of Eritrea. He further gave an explicit explanation of the peace and stability and the promising growth in the country.
• Mrs Margaret Reardon also gave an insight into life in Eritrea and the kindness of the various ethnic groups she met during her stay in Eritrea during British rule. Mrs Margaret is a 90 years old lady and with a photo slide presentation of her life during the period in Eritrea gave a sensational insight of Eritrea.
• A thirteen years old student, Yonathan Daniel, who attended directly from his school wearing the school uniform, presented an appealing speech on behalf of the Eritrean children in the UK under the team from the bottom of my heart: A reflection of independence and its true meaning to children. His speech gave the perspective of Eritrean children in the UK on the home country and the admiration for the Eritrean community and its achievements
• Zala Zia a senior PR and communications consultant and a close friend of the Eritreans in the UK moderated the event and delivered a statement launching the UK-Eritrea Friendship Forum

The event was opened by Dr Tewolde Woldekidan, Coordinator of the Eritrean Public Campaign Committee who also made an introductory statement and gave an insight into some major activities of the public campaign. Dr Tewolde called upon friends and partners to strengthen their solidarity with Eritrea and jointly participate in some of the main activities of the Eritrean community. In particular, he appealed to all friends and partners to join the Eritrean Community in the recently initiated project of Food Security and the establishment of a trust fund towards that end.

The event was also cleverly set to an am bience of traditional Eritrea. The National Union of Eritrean Women in London who were also on hand to make the guests feel welcome were dressed in traditional clothes and added to the cultural feel of the reception through a variety of interventions. The cultural coffee ceremony, with the Eritrean music playing in the background and a slideshow of the Independence Day celebrations, the cultural dances and the exotic traditional Eritrean food gave a true feeling of Eritrea during the occasion.

The guests were given membership forms to the Eri-UK Friendship Forum, which had been launched during the event. The event was ended with a closing remark from HE Ambassador Gerahtu, highlighting the Food Security Programme that has been established and thanked all guests, friends and supporters.

Eritrean Public Campaign Committee

Information and Communication
May 24, 2010

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